It has been a long road, literally, to get to the top for Morgan Sacco and the Greeley Central boys soccer team.

Sacco is a big reason the Wildcats enter the season ranked No. 1 in Class 4A. The senior midfielder earned first-team all-state honors in 2006 after helping Greeley Central reach the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

Sacco also is coming off a successful summer season during which he qualified for the Olympic Development Program's regional player pool and led his club team to the championship of the Surf Cup in San Diego.

His story might seem similar to that of a lot of top prep players in the state, except for the miles he has had to travel to reach that level.

With a dearth of quality club teams available to players in the Greeley area, Sacco and his family made a decision years ago to put in the necessary road time for him to be able to compete at the highest level of competition the state has to offer.

"It all started when my dad coached a club team in Greeley and he could see it was falling apart," said Sacco, who scored four goals and had 12 assists last year. "We decided that if I was serious about the sport and wanted to get ahead, we would have to look outside of Greeley for a club team."

So, for the past six years, Sacco and his family have hit the highways between Greeley and Denver three to five times a week so he could play with the Colorado Rush

Nike club team.

Sacco said his parents, Paul and Connie, didn't mind making the sacrifice, especially since his dad is "the biggest soccer fan on Earth." It does create wear and tear on their vehicles, though.

"We stick with Hondas," Sacco said. "They're good on gas."

Sacco admits that the time commitment has been hard on him at times, but he believes it all has been worth it.

"During the first couple of years, I saw my other friends playing basketball and wrestling and other things, and all the school spirit that went along with that," Sacco said. "I missed out on that and wondered if I was doing the right thing. But soccer's my passion, and this is what I want to do, so it was the right thing for me."

The hard work and dedication probably will pay off with a scholarship, as Sacco has been contacted by several schools. Stanford has shown some interest in Sacco, who has a 3.8 grade-point average. He said he needs a higher ACT score to qualify for that prestigious university.

With nine starters returning, the Wildcats are one of the favorites to win the state championship. In addition to Sacco, Greeley Central returns keeper Jeff Allen, a first-team all-state selection, and forward Ben Buhler, an honorable mention choice.

"With a little bit of luck, we should be really good," Wildcats coach Ian Wale said. "Maybe on paper we look like we should be No. 1, but we're not the most talented team. We're going to have to outwork people."

Wale said that because Sacco is his only player who competes in a top-level club program, it hurts his team somewhat experiencewise but his players make up for it with the diversity of their skills.

Buhler is a perfect example. Buhler, a senior who attends University High School, also plays basketball and said that his time on the hardwood helps him with his quickness on the soccer field.

Buhler plays club soccer in Greeley but admits it's not at a very high level.

"It's not the best, but it helps keep the skills up," Buhler said. "I think I improve more during the school season than I do in club. For most players, it's the exact opposite."

Still, even with only one elite club player on their roster, the Wildcats believe they can match up with any team in 4A.

"We got a taste for it last year, making the quarterfinals," Buhler said. "We only lost five players, so this team knows what it's like to play that far into the state tournament."

NOTEBOOK

• The Denver South soccer team is a real melting pot, as coach Pat Dowling has players from Europe, Africa, Iraq, Iran and Central and South America on his squad. Dowling said the diversity of cultures and languages sometimes can lead to miscommunication, but for the most part, the players seem to understand him.

"I have to use more hand signals and gestures than I normally would, but it works," Dowling said.

Dowling said about half the members of the Rebels squad are from another country.

• Defending champion Liberty, which enters the season ranked No. 2, will be trying to win its sixth state title, which would make it the winningest boys program in the state (the Lancers are tied with Arapahoe and Cherry Creek for the most titles, with five).

To do that, Liberty will have to survive a brutal schedule that includes contests against Grandview, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, Smoky Hill (defending 5A state champion), Mullen (No. 6 in 4A) and Broomfield (No. 5 in 4A).

The Lancers also will have to deal with Cheyenne Mountain in league play. The Indians, who reached the semifinals last season, bring back the bulk of their squad, including senior keeper Hunter Huffman, who is drawing attention from Division I programs.

Cheyenne Mountain begins the season ranked fourth in 4A and will play host to Liberty on Sept. 25 in a contest that could decide the Colorado Springs Metro League title.

• Don't look now, but the Pueblo Centennial team just got deeper, and better. The Bulldogs, who reached the quarterfinals last season after making the semifinals in 2005, lost only two players and one starter to graduation.

They were further bolstered by the transfer of three players from Pueblo South, including Marcus Miera, the South Central League's most valuable player last year.

Pueblo Centennial, ranked No. 3, will be without standout Jeff Wrona for part of the season while he recovers from knee surgery, but he should be back in time for the Bulldogs' playoff push.

• The Skyline League generally isn't considered a power conference, but the battle to be one of the five qualifiers for the postseason could be an interesting one.

Mullen, which plays in the 5A Centennial League during the regular season, qualifies through the Skyline and is a good bet to grab one of the playoff spots. That only leaves four berths for the league's remaining 10 clubs.

Three of those teams can be considered legitimate contenders to win the league title: Cherokee Trail, Centaurus and Mountain Range. Cherokee Trail won the 4A half of the Skyline last season, and the Cougars return seven starters.

Second-year Mountain Range features high-scoring sophomore Christian Caruso, and the Mustangs like freshman keeper Matt Maczuga. Centaurus has senior Jose Nuñez, who might be the best all-around player in the league.

Throw into the mix Ranum, which is trying to make the postseason for the fifth consecutive season, and Rock Canyon, which plays in the 5A Continental but qualifies through the Skyline, and there is little room for error for teams trying to reach the playoffs.

• The Northern League remains the biggest, and deepest, in 4A. Six of its eight postseason qualifiers last season made the 16-team state tournament, and Broomfield has played in the past two championship games. The Eagles, who won it all in 2005, lost two-time 4A player of the year Ryan Aweida to graduation, but Broomfield still has enough talent to make a deep run. Travis Boccard will move up from defense to play as an attacking midfielder. He will team with Kyle Reddy to shore up the Eagles offense.

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